Pablo Martín Abal
Pablo Abal | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 19, 1977 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina |
| Occupation | Swimmer (retired) |
| Years active | Until at least 2000 (Olympics), active in Masters competition since 2016 |
| Known for | Representing Argentina at the 2000 Olympic Games; former national record holder in sprint backstroke and butterfly |
Pablo Martín Abal (born March 19, 1977) is a retired Argentine swimmer who excelled in butterfly and backstroke events. He represented Argentina at the 2000 Olympic Games and held national records in the sprint backstroke and butterfly disciplines. During his collegiate career at Arizona State University in the United States, he achieved three All-American distinctions.[1]
Abal attended Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, on an athletic scholarship and trained under coach Mike Chasson. While competing for the Sun Devils, he earned three All-American honors and recorded the second-fastest 100-yard backstroke time in the university’s history (48.26 seconds) at the 1999 NCAA Championships.[1] He completed his studies with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering.
At the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, Abal qualified for the 100 m butterfly event by achieving a FINA B-standard time of 54.67 seconds at the Argentine National Championships. In Sydney, he posted a personal best of 54.45 seconds in the 100 m butterfly, finishing twenty-eighth overall but falling short of semifinal qualification by 0.64 seconds.[2] In addition, he swam the butterfly leg of Argentina’s 4 × 100 m medley relay with a split of 53.96 seconds, setting a national record; however, the team placed eighteenth overall.[3]
Since beginning Masters competition in 2016, Abal has secured multiple victories at the X South American Championship held in Uruguay. Notably, he established a world record for the 35–39 age group in the 50 m backstroke with a time of 25.70 seconds.
External links
- Arizona State Sun Devils – Player Profile
- Arizona State University Swimmer Biography
- Pablo Abal – US Masters Swimming Results
- Pablo Abal – Masters US Record Holder
- Article on Pablo Abal at 2001 World Championships
- Coverage of Pablo Abal at 2001 USA World Cup
- Archived Results from the 2016 es:Campeonato Sudamericano de Natación
- 1977 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Santa Rosa, La Pampa
- Sportspeople from La Pampa Province
- Argentine male swimmers
- Olympic swimmers for Argentina
- Swimmers at the 1999 Pan American Games
- Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Argentine male butterfly swimmers
- Arizona State Sun Devils men's swimmers
- Expatriate swimmers in the United States
- Argentine expatriates in the United States
- Pan American Games swimmers for Argentina
- 20th-century Argentine sportsmen